A cuppa on Blue Monday - what's your tipple?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s Media Centre

Cheers to a cuppa on Zoom as Great Western Railway marks Blue Monday

Monday 18th January 2021

To mark Blue Monday ? the third Monday in January ? GWR invited colleagues at Samaritans and Network Rail to share in a virtual cuppa. So virtual in fact, the six participants made their mugs of tea during a Zoom meeting?

The special video to support #BrewMonday can be viewed via the link above. Among those taking part is GWR Human Resources Director Ruth Busby.

Ruth said:

"It has been a year like no other and Zoom meetings have become a fixture of the working week for so many. This virtual group cuppa was an important reminder of the need to continue to reach out for a chat with people you work with.

"Samaritans has trained hundreds of our staff to spot someone who might be vulnerable, giving them the confidence to simply start a conversation which could help save a life, so we?re encouraging staff and customers to put that into practise this winter and connect over a socially-distanced cup of tea."

Research with more than 1,400 Samaritans volunteers found the start of cold days and long nights over winter heighten feelings of isolation for those already experiencing loneliness, feelings that can be exaggerated during the present lockdown restrictions.

To help ensure less people struggle alone, the charity wants to turn Blue Monday into something positive by encouraging people to hold virtual brew events to check in on their colleagues, friends and family members. 

The message is a hugely important one for everyone ... the friendship and comradeship of zoom sessions, forum reading and posting, phone calls, Facebook and Messenger, emails and many more electronic have been and remain key to many people.

I (personally) feel that the reaching out here has helped me and perhaps many others retain their sanity.   My travel milage has dropped like a stone ... my online time rocketed, and I am in the very fortunate position that thinks have adapted well physically, financially, medically and emotionally to a very, very different environment.  I know that is not the case for many - perhaps most - of our members.

There have been 109 (one hundred and nine) logged in members here on the Coffee Shop today [I will add other stats after midnight ... 334 users (( 318 UK^▸ (United Kingdom) )) , 4383 pages (( 4223 UK )) served].  Thank you for your ongoing support, and I hope our forum is providing support in some ways for you.

[broadgage]

I almost never drink tea or coffee.
Under most circumstances I drink only beer or tap water.

Wine sometimes, port sometimes, brandy in the winter or gin with either tonic water or orange juice in the summer.

I often go a week or two without drinking anything but beer or tap water. I keep a reserve of bottled water in case tap water is not available, but consider regular use of bottled water to be wasteful. Tap water is much cheaper and a lot less damaging to the enviroment.

[Red Squirrel]

W C Fields had something to say about the drinking of water...

[TonyK]

W C Fields had something to say about the drinking of water...

So did Father Jack.

[grahame]

What do you drink while on the Coffee Shop - survey at http://www.passenger.chat/24549 - closes late this evening.

[froome]

Normally tea, which doesn't appear to be an option, so I've ticked 'something else'.

I work on the basis that a spilled cup of tea might do less damage than a spilled cup of coffee. 

[ellendune]

Normally tea, which doesn't appear to be an option, so I've ticked 'something else'.

But tea is the second option! Need to read the heading and the line together though!

[JayMac]

If I'm browsing after the sun is over the yardarm then there will likely be a tipple of some description nearby.

You'll never guess what I'm supping tonight...

[johnneyw]

Coffee and Pain au Chocolat are in order for morning visits to the Coffee Shop. Later in the day, well, the world is my lobster,  anything from soft drinks to an evening glass of something that, in sufficient quantity, turns me into a brilliant singer and dancer!  😲

[grahame]

I spent a record of nearly 4 hours on a Zoom call yesterday - it started during the presidency of Donald Trump and ended during the presidency of Joe Biden. Time flew - a fascinating time and I learned a very great deal from a new friend. And I had a mug of English Breakfast tea in my hand - at least during earlier parts of the call.

It would seem from our survey that everyone - 100% of people in our survey - drinks while at the keyboard!  I'm usually a coffee drinker but sometimes switch - to Rooibos, to Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Darjeeling, Lapsong Souchong, to Lemon, Orange or other fruit tea or even (!) to English Breakfast when I've not got a pot of coffee brewed or am away from the bedside jar of instant (which has just provided granules for the cup I have now).

A fun survey, but showing serious results confirming that The Coffee Shop is part of our fabric / social scene / life and not something that's off to one side and detached from day to day activities.  And the wide variety of answers goes to show what a varied and tolerant lot we are, even in fun, accepting of a whole kaleidoscope of members as we go about what we do.